Review: Titan Mage
In a turbulent world full of political shenanigans, it was a relief to find a genre that was irreverent and fun. There was no larger message, neither side of the great divide telling me I was evil for not being in their camp. This book was just clean fun with a few naughty scenes in there for good measure. It was Grade A Awesome!
What was awesome? None other than the novel Titan Mage by Edie Skye, a fun fantasy romp through a steamship paradise inhabited by giant stompy robots and cool monsters that need killin’! The world was fleshed out from page one and left me wanting to know more. I was thoroughly invested from jump and can’t wait for the author to write more in this universe. Edie Skye is a pen name for H.P. Holo, and she has skills. And no, I’m not outing her… she tells everyone who’ll listen! Truly, it’s the internet’s worst-kept secret!
So, let’s talk about this book that hooked me. This is a harem novel about a man who was isekai-ed into a fantasy world. He enters a world where his newly acquired magical prowess and ability to control the Titan mechs make Locke extremely desirable. The ladies throw themselves at him, and he ends up with a bevy of beauties. Voilà, a harem is created. All of the characters that inhabit the pages of this book were awesome and I liked them. I haven’t previously read this genre, but I love giant stompy robots and dream of piloting one. It was an easy buy-in for me!
The Story
Magic powers? His own mech? A whole airship of gorgeous women desperate for his genes? Yes, please!
Paralyzed by a drunk driver, let go from his job, and stuck in a sad, stagnant town in the middle of nowhere, Joseph Locke was having the worst day of his life.
And then he died.
But considering that he wakes up with a brand-new body in the cockpit of a badass steampunk robot on an airship of nothing but hot babes, his next life may not be all that bad. Especially when he learns that he’s a void mage—the rarest and most powerful of all mages in the world of Haven. And his shipmates want to help him make more.
As if that weren’t enough, they offer Locke a job piloting one of their mechs, which they call Titans. In the meantime, Locke has to learn his way around this exciting world, all while coming to grips with his new—and dangerous—occupation. Will he be able to master his Titan? How can he best upgrade the machine to become as badass as possible? Why’s a strange parasitic sludge falling from the sky? And what’s up with the ghost of a space witch living in his Titan—and inside his head?
Let’s dive in! That’s the summary from the book, and it nailed it! This ad copy caught the vibe of this book, which is helpful for future readers. The author, Edie Skye, is irreverent, fun, and has a witty sense of humor.
Speaking of the novel, this book was well-written and a lot of fun to dive into. The prose was clean, and the storytelling was top-notch. The author, Edie Skye, gave a master class on how to tell a story in a conversational authorial voice. She told a story that was expertly paced, with enough pauses in the right places for the naughty scenes and to balance the action-oriented aspects of this story. This novel was the overlap of expert wordsmithing and a compelling story with characters you’ll learn to love!
Continuing along, let’s talk about the pacing and plot of this story. No reason to say this coyly, so let’s be blunt. This book was expertly plotted out by Edie Skye. It was easy to believe the character’s transition from Earth to Haven and the deal that brought him there. I wanted to believe in this world and this adventure. Luckily, the author made it extremely easy to do. We had a perfectly paced coming-of-age story as the main character, Locke, finds himself and his place in the world. There were enough lulls in the action to give you breathing room so you didn’t feel overwhelmed. The action was interspaced by stops for naughty sex scenes and battles with the big bads. There were plenty of hills and valleys that gave us time to breathe, which is important in a novel of this length. And since this is a harem story, the pacing of which partner got time with Locke was also done in such a way as to give us room to accept that jealousy was managed by his ladies. Truly, this was a master class of epic proportions.
The other important part of this story is how well-plotted out this novel is. I am writing this review of book one as I am listening to the audiobook for book four. As we dive deeper into this series, it feels like the author thought out the larger story arc in advance. Minor details in this novel pay dividends in later novels. If Edie Skye shot from the hip, it didn’t show and that’s all that truly matters. The book was written so that every piece of tidbits pays off later and in a big way. I am not sure how else to express how enjoyable the plot of this novel was, so we’ll move on!
Now, let’s talk about the audiobook for this novel! This book was well put together and expertly done. The audiobook publisher, Royal Guard Publishing, set the standard of excellence. Not sure how else to say that this was an audio production was amazing other than to just say wow. Just wow. The narrators were top-notch, and I’d definitely listen to other books narrated by them. I have never listened to books narrated by Daryl Mayfield or Jess Trepanier, and they impressed the hell out of me. The two worked well together, seamlessly blending their style of coed narration in such a way that I sometimes forgot that there were two of them. At this point, I’m willing to listen to anything this Dynamic Duo reads to me! Or solo, since their talent is something worth honoring!
I really enjoyed what Edie Skye gave me. The story was a lot of fun, it was well-written, and the audiobooks were well-performed. From the writing side, Edie Skye had a mastery of the craft, and she was a joy to read. This book was told in conversational prose, which I’m a huge fan of. The characters were all believable; I could envision meeting them in the real world. It sounds corny, but I judge the people in the books where I temporarily make my home on whether or not I could see myself having a beer with them. On that front, Edie Skye nailed it.
In conclusion, the sex was written with just the right amount of spice, and the monster fights were a lot of fun. I didn’t grow up watching the same anime or those other animated adult entertainment videos that were referenced in the text. Because of that, I didn’t get some of the references and inside jokes in this book. Luckily, I don’t think you needed those cultural references to enjoy this story. I think those references could’ve made the story hit harder, but you’re fine without them. I guess, in a nutshell, this novel was so good that it made me dive into the rest of the series and the larger genre. Further, I went on to buy all of Edie Skye’s other books. My wallet hates me but should be a few more hours of entertainment. What can I say? Buy these books and join me in my new addiction!
The Characters
This novel is told from the point of view of Joseph Locke, a young man from Grassroots, Kentucky. He’s offered a deal too good to pass up and ends up being transported to a whole new world. While he is obviously the main character, I contend that the entire cast of characters is the main focal point. This is a harem-lit novel, so there were multiple people for us to know and love. All of the characters that inhabit the world of Titan Mage are well-written. They were fleshed out and felt real. The kind of people I could have over to a barbeque and have a beer with. They have an air of laid-back chill, which is what I loved about this book. Hopefully, the wider genre will bear this out as well!
Joseph Locke: He is the main point of view character of this adventure, but he isn’t the only main character in this adventure. However, because he serves as the ‘everyman’ archetype, we can envision this as ourselves when we read it. Classic wish fulfillment, what’s not to love? When the series starts out, he’s a cripple, wounded by a drunk driver and paralyzed below the waist. He’s down on his luck and takes a desperate job from an enigmatic woman he randomly meets in his hometown of Grassroots, Kentucky. That job ended up killing his earthly body, allowing him to be reborn in Haven with the body of a Greek God. He’s likable, and through his eyes, we learn about this strange new world and the characters who live there. Throughout the arc of this boxed set, we get to watch him grow and learn and become the kind of man we all wish we could be. What can I say? I like the dude, but I wouldn’t let him date my sister!
Captain Alyssa Harper: She’s the captain of the airship, the Blue Heron, where the story takes place and runs the ‘down on its luck’ Harper’s Harriers. They’re a company in the business of hunting down corrupted monsters and protecting the world from that rot. She’s gorgeous because, of course, she is in this genre. She is a no-nonsense kind of lady who only has ‘relations’ to relieve her stress. She’s otherwise all business, serving as the perfect foil to the more fun-loving characters like Bexley. She always thinks about business and allows the reader to get a more grounded view of the world where the story takes place.
Chief Engineer Bexley: As her title would suggest, she’s the mechanic for the airship and her compliment of Titans. Those are giant robots powered by magic that are used to fight the monsters of this world. She is funny, irreverent, and salaciously sexual in all the right ways. She has exactly two modes throughout this story; horny and ready to get it on and irritated and ready to fix something the others broke. She also loves bawdy music and a good sausage… probably because she likes that double entendre. She has a checkered past with her previous partners but seems to have decided that Locke was enough for her and hung up her… spurs.
Ember Q’Van: She is a Titan Mage from the well-to-do floating city-state of Vasor, home of all things posh and affluent. She pilots the other Titan in the Harper’s Harriers and is a lot of fun. She vacillates between all business and a firecracker of a bedmate. She was a lot of fun to read and someone I wanted to see more of. Maybe I just have a thing for redheads, but I doubt that’s it! LOL! She was just a good blend of fun and professional magical warriors.
Peth: She is an entity that is trapped in the Titan Chimera, who brings Locke to the world of Haven. She is a Precursor with memory issues and is trapped in the Titan. She is, quite literally, the ghost in the machine, and there she will stay until Locke can pull her out of there and make her a new body.
The World
Seriously, what’s not to love about the world-building in this novel? It was expertly handled by Team Edie Skye, who know how to tell compelling stories set in beautiful worlds she created. It was a place I could easily imagine and visualize. She managed to do that without info dumps; instead, she strung us along with details as we needed them. She fed it to us in drips and drabs, making us work for it, and at the end of this book, she left me wanting more! Seriously, this lady was the perfect drug dealer. I know that sounds toxic, but trust me, this story was anything but. It was an exciting thrill ride from start to finish. What’s not to like about their already expansive world? The cool part is that we get to learn about everything as the main character does. Since he was brought into this world, it is the perfect point of view to learn about all of the dark corners of Haven. It was a perfect way to introduce new information to the reader, and Edie did it well. I can’t say it enough: everything in the setting was extremely fleshed out, giving this setting a very lived-in feel.
Politics
If you are thinking about real-world politics, there is none in this novel. However, this novel exists in a new fantasy setting and there are governments and thus politics in that world. That said, it is all in service to the plot and in no way preachy.
Content Warning
This is a steamy book with several naughty scenes that will fog up your windows and give you heart palpitations. This is not family-friendly, so be warned before you buy this novel! Oh, and there is a fair share of curse words, so if an F-Bomb or ten bugs you… skip this novel!
Who is it for?
This is a harem book for people who like fantasy novels with giant stompy robots and aren’t easily offended by smut or vulgar words. This is my first novel in this space, so I couldn’t really compare it to anything else.
Why buy it
Do you love conversational prose? Are you a fan of fantasy novels or giant stompy robots? Do you like naughty harem books? Then buy this book!
Seriously, click the links and buy this book! I loved it, and so will you!